In June I organised a rather unique sketch crawl for Urban Sketchers Yorkshire. Following on from my visit to the National Coal Mining Museum for England for their birthday celebrations I arranged for us to sketch 140 metres underground in the coal mine itself. We had...

Last weekend saw a milestone for the National Coal Mining Museum for England as it celebrated 30 years since it opened its doors. Originally called the Yorkshire Mining Museum it opened on the site of Caphouse Colliery in June 1988 and gained national status in 1995....

May Bank Holiday weekend saw the 5th Rotary Club of Sowerby Bridge Classic Bike and Scooter Show. The amazing and it must be said unusual Bank Holiday weather brought out the crowds, don’t know how anyone in leathers didn’t melt. Finding something to draw wasn’t a...

Visited the Classic Car Show in Wakefield recently. I expected a few cars in front of the Cathedral. Boy was I in for a pleasant surprise. There were cars, trucks and bikes everywhere! The whole of the town centre. In fact as a sketcher it was quite a dilemma. What to...

Started 10 years ago by Gabriel Campanario, Urban Sketchers has gone on to become a global phenomenon, with chapters in virtually every country. The aim of Urban Sketchers is to draw on location, indoors and out, capturing what we see from direct observation and...

One of the more memorable sketch crawls from 2017 was when Yorkshire Urban Sketchers joined with local people and artists on Western Road to sketch the trees under threat of being chopped down as part of Sheffield council’s controversial city wide action on so called...

Friday the 18th August, Leeds Rhinos versus Saint Helens, saw the last Rugby League match to be played in front of the historic South Stand. First opened in 1931 the South Stand has been the backdrop to many a memorable game and magical performances by the greats of...

Last weekend saw the 11th Bradford Classic Car Show in Bradford City Park. It was my first visit to an event there and I was suitably impressed. What a great asset for the city. The crowds turned out, the weather stayed fine and we were spoilt for subjects to sketch...

Sketchers were out in force at Cliffe Castle last Sunday. Not only were Urban Sketchers Yorkshire there, but in the afternoon artists from Sketch That also made an appearance. Originally the home of Henry Isaac Butterfield the imposing building was completed in the...

Last Friday evening I attended the opening party of the Howard Hodgkin exhibition at the Hepworth Wakefield. The exhibition features over 35 works painted over a career lasting 50 years. Regarded as one of Britain’s leading contemporary painters, the works explore his...